Signaturefd LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,196 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HES. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 581.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,342,311 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $358,374,000 after buying an additional 1,998,824 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Hess by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $552,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,204 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,697,579,000 after purchasing an additional 889,122 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Hess by 703.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,007,485 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $154,146,000 after purchasing an additional 882,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Packer & Co Ltd purchased a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,806,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on HES. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a report on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.42.

Hess Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $159.13 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $150.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $49.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.36 and a beta of 1.27. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $124.27 and a 1-year high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 38.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Rielly sold 2,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $375,173.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 335,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,443,104. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Profile

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.